Zagreb Daily Report - February 18, 2010

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000102 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL HR ECON SUBJECT: Zagreb Daily Report - February 18, 2010 ¶1. (SBU) Deputy Secretary Lew Arrives for Presidential Inauguration: Deputy Secretary Lew arrived in Zagreb on February 17 to attend the inauguration of Croatia's third president, Ivo Josipovich. Prior to the February 18 ceremony, the Deputy Secretary met privately with President-elect Josipovic. On the margins of the inauguration ceremony, the Deputy Secretary had bilateral meetings with Croatian Foreign Minister Jandrokovic, Albanian President Topi, Slovenian President Turk and others. Details to follow via septel. ¶2. (U) Croatian Media Reports on Serbian Attendance at Josipovic's Inauguration: In response to Serbia's absence at the presidential inauguration, the Croatian press reported on February 17 that President-elect Josipovic said, "I'm sorry that President Tadic is not coming. I think that it is a missed opportunity to start dialogue as soon as possible." Josipovic noted that he did not see Tadic's decision as an act of animosity towards him or towards Croatia. Commenting on Josipovic's statement that Croatia was offering Serbia its hand in friendship, the Croatian press noted that Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said Croatia was clearly told that Serbian representatives would not attend the event if representatives of Kosovo attended. Jeremic added that Serbia was willing to cooperate in everything and wanted the best possible relations with Croatia, "but not at the price of any humiliation or, God forbid, the recognition of Kosovo ...." ¶3. (U) Poll Shows Croatians Have High Hopes for New President: On the day of Ivo Josipovic's inauguration a new poll indicates that Croatians are very positive about the new president and his ability to improve conditions in Croatia. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents think that Josipovic is likely to raise the standard of living. Additionally, more than 80 percent of respondents believe that Josipovic will be a positive force in the government's fight against corruption. Despite the fact that the president has very little influence in the economic sphere, the same poll shows that more than half of respondents think that Josipovic's presidency will help stimulate economic reforms, spur job growth and lead to lower taxes. ¶4. (U) Office for Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK) presents its report to the National Council for Suppression of Corruption: USKOK's office reported that in 2009, 192 individuals were convicted of corruption, which represents an increase of 138% compared with 2008. The Director of USKOK reported that many of the cases included high-level corruption and high-level officials, giving the example of the government's former vice president, a former minister and a state secretary. USKOK's director additionally reported that in 2007, illegally gained property worth 15 million Euros was frozen. The USKOK director stated that his office and the office of the Chief State Prosecutor are not subject to political influence. ¶5. (U) ICITAP Case Management Training: ICITAP just completed a two-day seminar on complex criminal case preparation for the directors and senior staff of the Police's Office for Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (PN USKOK) and the Prosecutor's Office for Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption (USKOK). The seminar is designed to increase the conviction rate and develop a better working relationship between the prosecutor and the police. In February and March, ICITAP will offer additional case management training seminars for police officers and state prosecutors who work on complex criminal cases in Osijek, Split and Rijeka, where PN USKOK and USKOK offices are located. ¶6. (U) Bojan Guduric, Wanted for Pukanic's Murder, to be Extradited to Croatia: Croatian media report that the Bosnian Federal Court has ruled that Bojan Guduric, accused of murdering Ivo Pukanic, the late publisher and co-owner of the NCL media group in Zagreb, is to be extradited to Croatia. After the Bosnian Minster of Justice signs the extradition decree, law enforcement officials in Bosnia and Croatia will agree on the technical details of Guduric's extradition. FOLEY